Saints For Sinners

How do you respond to the universal call to holiness required by the Church? How do you overcome human weakness in the face of trials and tribulations? What do you do to resist the temptation to desperation or resentment over personal failure, ineffectualness and other hard things in the spiritual life?

The Struggle For Sanctity
Digitally recorded and available now on five CDs or cassettes, the classic work Saints for Sinners by the renowned spiritual writer Alban Goodier, S.J. is sure to inspure you with true stories of saints who were every bit as human as you in their struggle to attain sanctity. Written precicely to inspire us even when our sins oppress us and we are tempted to lose hope, Fr. Goodier focuses his unique talents as a gifted author and distinguished spiritual director on the humanity of these saints rather than on the sanctity that is built upon that humanity.

Beautifully read by professional voice-over artist Peggy Normandin, Saints for Sinners powerfully reminds us that the saints had their weaknesses, too. And aptly demonstrates the truth that it is precisely in our frailty, failings and struggles that "virtue is made perfect in weakness."

Keen Insights
Really a concise collection of brief but beneficial biographies of nine Catholic men and women who were ultimately raised to the altars of the Church, Saints for Sinners will introduce you to flesh-and-blood individuals who faced real temptations, flaws of character and periods of spiritual dryness, to emerge as proof positive that there is no condition of life that God's grace cannot reach, and none so low or humble that He cannot make it worthy of Himself.

You'll experience a rekindling of the spiritual spark within as Goodier's unique style and keen insights combine with the inspiring facts of the saintly lives of such profound examples of faith as Ss. Augustine, Joseph of Cupertino, Claude La Columbiere, Margaret of Cortona, John of the Cross, Francis Xavier and more. Order today and discover the fulfillment of St. Paul's words, "The foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the wise, and the weak things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the strong."

St. Augustine of Hippo

Feast Day:
Roman Rite Calendar - 08/28
Tridentine Calendar - 08/28

Patron Of:
Brewers, Eyes, Printers, Theologians

Also Known As
Aurelius Augustinus
Doctor of Grace

Memorial
28 August

Profile
His father was a pagan who converted on his death bed; his mother was Saint Monica, a devout Christian. Trained in Christianity, he lost his faith in youth and led a wild life. Lived with a Carthaginian woman from the age of 15 through 30. Fathered a son whom he named Adeotadus, which means the gift of God. Taught rhetoric at Carthage and Milan. After investigating and experimenting with several philosophies, he became a Manichaean for several years; it taught of a great struggle between good and evil, and featured a lax moral code. A summation of his thinking at the time comes from his Confessions: "God, give me chastity and continence - but not just now."

Augustine finally broke with the Manichaeans and was converted by the prayers of his mother and the help of Saint Ambrose of Milan, who baptized him. On the death of his mother he returned to Africa, sold his property, gave the proceeds to the poor, and founded a monastery. Monk. Priest. Preacher. Bishop of Hippo in 396. Founded religious communities. Fought Manichaeism, Donatism, Pelagianism and other heresies. Oversaw his church and his see during the fall of the Roman Empire to the Vandals. Doctor of the Church. His later thinking can also be summed up in a line from his writings:

Our hearts were made for You, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you.

Born
13 November 354 at Tagaste, Numidia, North Africa (Souk-Ahras, Algeria) as Aurelius Augustinus

Profile Nobleman from the Basque reqion. Studied and taught philosophy at the University of Paris, and planned a career as a professor. Friend of Saint Ignatius of Loyola who convinced him to use his talents to spread the Gospel. One of the founding Jesuits, and the first Jesuit missionary. Priest.

In Goa, while waiting to take ship, India, he preached in the street, worked with the sick, and taught children their catechism. He would walk through the streets ringing a bell to call the children to their studies. Said to have converted the entire city.

He scolded his patron, King John of Portugal, over the slave trade: "You have no right to spread the Catholic faith while you take away all the country's riches. It upsets me to know that at the hour of your death you may be ordered out of paradise."

Tremendously successful missionary for ten years in India, the East Indies, and Japan, baptizing more than 40,000. His epic finds him dining with head hunters, washing sores of lepers in Venice, teaching catechism to Indian children, baptizing 10,000 in a single month. He tolerated the most appalling conditions on long sea voyages, enduring extremes of heat and cold. Wherever he went he would seek out and help the poor and forgotten. He traveled thousands of miles, most on his bare feet, and he saw the greater part of the Far East. Had the gift of tongues. Miracle worker. Raised people from the dead. Calmed storms. Prophet. Healer.

Born 1506 at Javier, Spanish Navarre

Died 2 December 1552 at Sancian, China of a fever contracted on a mission journey

St. Joseph of Cupertino

Also known as
Joseph of Copertino
the Gaper (derogatory term from his childhood)
the Flying Friar
Joseph Desa

Memorial
18 September

Profile
Joseph's father, Felice Desa was a poor carpenter who died before the boy was born. Creditors drove his mother, Francesca Panara, from her home, and Joseph was born in a stable. Starting at age eight, he received ecstatic visions that left him gaping and staring into space. He had a hot temper, which his strict mother worked to overcome.

Apprenticed to a shoemaker. At age 17 Joseph applied for admittance to the Friars Minor Conventuals, but was refused due to his lack of education. He applied to the Capuchins, was accepted as a lay-brother in 1620, but his ecstasies made him unsuitable for work, and he was dismissed. Abused by his family, he continued his prayers, and was accepted as an oblate at the Franciscan convent near Cupertino. His virtues were such that he became a cleric at 22, a priest at 25. Joseph still had little education, could barely read or write, but received such a gift of spiritual knowledge and discernment that he could solve intricate questions.

His life became a series of visions and ecstasies, which could be triggered any time or place by the sound of a church bell, church music, the mention of the name of God or of the Blessed Virgin or of a saint, any event in the life of Christ, the sacred Passion, a holy picture, the thought of the glory in heaven, etc. Yelling, beating, pinching, burning, piercing with needles - none of this would bring him from his trances, but he would return to the world on hearing the voice of his superior in the order. He would often levitate and float (which led to his patronage of people involved in air travel), and could hear heavenly music.

Even in the 17th century, there was interest in the unusual, and Joseph's ecstasies in public caused both admiration and disturbance in the community. For 35 years he was not allowed to attend choir, go to the common refectory, walk in procession, or say Mass in church. To prevent making a spectacle, he was ordered to remain in his room with a private chapel. He was brought before the Inquisition, and sent from one Capuchin or Franciscan house to another. But Joseph retained his joyous spirit, submitting to Divine Providence, keeping seven Lents of 40 days each year, never letting his faith be shaken.

Born
17 June 1603 as Joseph Desa at Cupertino, diocese of Nardo, near Brindisi in the kingdom of Naples, Italy

Died
18 September 1663 at Ossimo, Italy of a rapidly developed but severe fever; buried in the chapel of the Conception, Ossimo